


Where Pride Goeth

by n7chelle



Series: The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing [4]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Children, Amnesia, Canon-Appropriate Melodrama, Cole (Dragon Age) Being Cole, Drabble Collection, Elvhen, Everything Changed When The Fire Nation Attacked, F/M, Fade Dreams, Happy Solas (Dragon Age), Lullabies, Morrigan is a good mom, POV Morrigan (Dragon Age), Pre-Dragon Age: Inquisition Quest - Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts, Prequel, Solas is a good dad, Solas told the truth!AU, The Iron Bull (Dragon Age) is a Good Friend, The Veil (Dragon Age), crossovers with my own au, magical sneezing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:00:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22233706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/n7chelle/pseuds/n7chelle
Summary: Ongoing(-ish) collection of drabbles set within The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing series.There may be spoilers for future (or past) plot developments, but since I might never get around to writing all of it... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Relationships: Female Inquisitor/Solas (Dragon Age), Female Lavellan/Solas, Fen'Harel | Solas/Female Lavellan, Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Series: The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1155020
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	1. Dream

**Author's Note:**

> I waffled about posting any of these, but I keep writing more of them so...why not. Stories are meant to be shared after all, even if they're only glimpses of the big picture!
> 
> Mostly (if not all) inspired by prompts from a certain writers' group. (You know who you are. Thank you for being such an amazing group! ❤️)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: too afraid to speak

Fur raiment. Gilded armor. The pale shell of a pointed ear. 

A word, even a breath, and the vision will dissolve like smoke. Always a different place. A garden. The ruins of Halin'sulahn. Skyhold’s painted rotunda. Always the same cruel trespasser. By day she dreads the night will come without him. By night, she clings to the sight of this imperious, Fade-conjured shadow, this stranger wearing the face of her lover. Always wonders if this time is her last. 

Her lungs beg for air. His name trips over her traitorous lips. He stops. Turns. 

She’s never dreamed of his voice.


	2. Gaatlok

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: smoke, fog, haze

"Something's wrong." 

Roiya looks up from the crown of flowers she'd been crafting with Delytha. Darien slumbers in her lap, unaware of the blossoms tucked into his pale curls. 

Her husband's chin is tipped skyward, eyes aglow and brow furrowed as he looks beyond the Veil. 

"Solas? What is it?" 

Even as she asks, the verdant springtime meadow surrounding them _shifts_ , turning gray and smoky at the edges, flecks of red and gold dancing on the sudden breeze like fireflies. 

No...

Like _fire_.

" _Vhenan_ —" Solas grips her shoulder, panicked, "wake up, now!" 

She sits up, disoriented. Then come the explosions. 


	3. Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: stash of snacks

“Where are you, little wolf-pups?” Solas called, singsong as he tiptoed through the rotunda. He pretended not to notice the two mismatched heads peeking out from the alcove.

“ _Don’t say anythin’! Da’ll make us share!_ ” came the stage-whispered voice of his daughter. 

“ _But where are we goin’ ta hide em?_ ” came an equally audible reply from his son. 

A crisp, fresh-baked _crunch_ , and Solas pictured many, many pastries being shoved into a satchel. But a moment later his children emerged from their hiding place, cheeks bulging like rodents and dusted with sugar and smears of jam around tight, close-lipped smiles.


	4. Lullaby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: hand in hand

Delytha is as loud as her brother is quiet, wide awake and demanding attention. Solas carries her out onto the balcony, where they won't disturb her sleeping mother and brother. 

" _Iras ma ghilas, da'len_ ," he sings, sweeping the backs of his fingers across her forehead. _"Ara ma'nedan ashir_." Delytha's eyes droop slowly, despite herself. A yawn stretches her tiny mouth. " _Dirthara lothlenan'as, bal emma mala dir_." 

He near-whispers the last line, tucking her little hands back under her Dalish-green swaddling blanket. His daughter breathes softly, asleep, the tips of his fingers caught in the grip of her pudgy, newborn fingers. 


	5. The Veil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: [this image](http://imgur.com/a/jdlPDK5) (imgur)

Solas shivers, half-deaf and bleary-eyed, towards the bright mouth of the cave. The ice-crusted wall burns his bare palms. Slush and dirt squelch between his frozen toes. 

With trembling arms he reaches towards the pale orange of sunset, numbly tracing familiar shapes and patterns in the thin, breath-fogged air. Nothing happens. He tries again. _Nothing_. 

Fear slithers into his veins, poison fangs pricking his heart. No songs of spirits stir the air. No vital energy thrums beneath the earth. Only pain gives him proof of life. 

The sky is held back from him. Bound. Immutable. _Empty_. 

What has he done?


	6. True Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The em dashes tricked me, so this is actually 102 words and thus not a TRUE drabble. For shame! (^◇^；)
> 
> prompt: Who ever loved that loved not at first sight? (from _As You Like It_ and _Hero and Leander_ )

When the children ask how their parents met—as children always do—he will not start with their mother on her deathbed and their father the one who put her there; it is not a story for children, nor one he is proud to tell.

Instead: he will tell them of the man who was lost, and of the singular woman who found him; of how she made a place for him at her table, though he did not think it worthy of him; and of how she showed him honesty, kindness, and mercy in turns, when _he_ was unworthy of _her_.


	7. Pilgrimage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roiya's parents, long before she was born.
> 
> prompt: [this image](https://imgur.com/JqtkngH) (imgur)

Esarion had only planned for a handful of days in Markham. A visit to his parents' graves, a tour of the village, then back to Wycome. To Nunavel. 

It was a fine plan—until the elder and half the village took note of his arrival. Days became a week, which became two weeks. By the time he returned, Clan Lavellan had moved on for the season.

The road north stretched out across riverland and rolling hills. The sun-kissed Vinmarks beckoned like the Golden City. He'd made a promise to Nunavel. The beginnings of a vow. He wouldn't keep her waiting. 


	8. Bad Wolf Rising

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A tiny peek at Good!Solas vs Evil!Solas, the HC I hope I can get around to actually completing one day.
> 
> prompt: [Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKJwvQfraY8).

The seas are boiling, the earth split by fissures, sky rent with lightning and storms, and from everywhere the voice of the Dread Wolf tolls out the impending end and rebirth of existence. 

"His attention to detail really is unparalleled," Solas admits out loud, noticing a bank of wolf-shaped clouds. Under different circumstances he might even be impressed.

"End of the world, _vhenan_? Suffering of innocent masses? Our childrens' future?" Roiya adds, just in case the first two weren't reason enough. 

"Yes, well. When you put it _that_ way," he sighs, raising a hand. "The things one does for love…"


	9. No Simple Sneeze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: sneezing

A lone figure approaches Skyhold just before sunset. 

"Thank the ancestors!" Roiya breathes, going down to meet him. She'd been pacing the ramparts for hours. 

" _Vhenan_ ," Solas greets tiredly. "I fear I may not have much time." 

"You've only just returned!" 

"Indeed, but I believe Skyhold itself may— _ah_ —no—!"

Roiya lurches towards Solas, reaching out reflexively with the arm she no longer has. He's already gone. The overpowering scent of veilfire lingers where he stood.

Elsewhere, an explosive sneeze echoes across open plains of sand and scrubland. 

"—be the…catalyst…" Solas trails off, realizing he is, once again, quite alone. 


	10. Blank

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: blank parchment, page, or screen

She wakes in a cell. The chamber is furnished like a sickroom, but the door is barred iron and there's a guard posted outside. 

Another elf shares her cell. The tall, pale stranger is seated at her bedside, and speaks some foreign gibberish when he notices her awake. Confusion must show on her face. When he speaks again the words are familiar, lyrical. 

"Can you understand me?" 

She nods, slowly.

"Are you in any pain?" 

Her left hand throbs distantly, the sensation muted. She shakes her head, no.

"Can you tell me your name?" 

"I'm—" she falters. 

_Who am I?_


	11. Wishing On Tomorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Solas and Fenris have gone to find Hawke in the Fade, and all Roiya can do is wait.
> 
> prompt: moon/moonlight

Midnight shadows swallowed the courtyard far below Roiya's balcony. Her eyes sought the slash of burned ground beside the gazebo. Glass smooth and sharp as a blade, it shone like a crescent moon against the blackness of night. 

Another day gone. What were ten days in the Fade? A month, a year? An hour? Time moved so strangely there.

High overhead, the true moon hung full and round as her belly. Roiya gazed upon it like a sailor to their guiding star, a prayer falling unbidden from her lips: _"Elune, ghilana ma vhenan mir vhenas."_

_Moonlight, guide my heart home._


	12. Sleight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's more satisfying than a perfectly executed hustle? Watching the hustler get beat at their own game.
> 
> Prompt: a spinning coin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cross-posted to Athena Trevelyan's drabble fic [Happiness is a Journey Best Shared](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22251778/chapters/53134777) because I couldn't decide which timeline happened in. Cole is a sweetheart in any universe! ❤️

"Why was he angry with me?"

You weren't supposed to beat his game," Varric explained, guiding a very perplexed Cole through the busy marketplace. 

"But he asked me to find the coin." A frown tugged at the corners of Cole's mouth. 

"Sure, but ten times in a row was a bit much," Varric laughed. "The look on that poor man's face!" It never got old, seeing a street hustler outplayed by someone who looked like the easiest mark in the world. "Don't feel too bad for him, kid. You frustrated him so much he forgot to steal your coin purse."


	13. Olive Branch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coming back to the Inquisition after being expelled is...awkward.
> 
> Prompt: challenge

"So," Bull drawled, when he finally located Solas, "how long are you planning on haunting the basement?" 

"Given the circumstances, I suspect my remaining out of sight is preferable," Solas replied archly. 

"To you, maybe," Bull snorted at the back of his head. "Makes it easier, doesn't it? Not having to face anyone." Silence. "Wouldn't've pegged the Dread Wolf for a coward."

The proud line of Solas' shoulders tensed minutely. "If you've come simply to gloat…"

"And step on Sera's toes? Nah, she's earned it. But you helped me get my head outta my ass. Figured I'd return the favor."


	14. Excellent Taste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another [crosspost](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22251778/chapters/62229589), because I have a soft spot for Morrigan secretly being a great mom to Kieran in every universe.
> 
> Prompt: a dull shine  
> Also shout out to [zinjadu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zinjadu/pseuds/zinjadu%22) for bringing to my attention the very important fact that Kieran canonically chose Morrigan's WEWH dress.

"Absolutely not," Morrigan declares. 

Blue is not her color. 

The gown is flattering enough, but the shade is too soft and innocent. Not to mention the appalling number of ruffles. If she must attend this charade of a ball, she'll wear something that doesn't make her look like a powdered, pastel cream puff. 

"What about this one, mother?" Kieran says eagerly. 

He tugs on a skirt with a subtle silver pattern that reflects a bit of light. She's more interested in the bodice; dark leather, feather accents, and… Oh yes, a very nice choice indeed. 

Red is _definitely_ her color. 


	15. Dinan'shiral

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exiled from the Inquisition, Solas does some soul-searching. (no pun intended, seriously, it's not a great time for him.)
> 
> Prompt: [let go - ark patrol (𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 + 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘣 + 3𝘋)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cxf-nhxZQVc)

Solasan has not weathered well. 

The temple is no empty ruin, waiting to welcome weary travelers into its embrace. The Inquisition had filled Skyhold with new purpose, made it their home. In Solasan, Solas finds only a funeral pyre ready to burn. 

Demons stalk the temple halls. He reads the eons of suffering in their bent and twisted forms, and a swift death is the only kindness he can offer. 

It is no easy task, to cut down so many he once called friends. But unlike the rest of this world, there is no life left in them to save.


	17. Homesick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roiya goes to Ferelden.

Waves slapped quietly against the _Morosa_ 's hull. The horizon had seemed to swallow the setting sun like a fire guttering; and now, a cloudless sky full of stars was reflected like a blanket covered in diamonds.

She missed mountains.

"Hell of a sight, isn't it?" Roiya jumped when a human woman leaned against the railing beside her. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. First time at sea? You have the look." 

Roiya guessed _the look_ was the wide-eyed wonder at seeing the Waking Sea spread out in all directions. "It's beautiful," she admitted. "Just didn't expect to feel so...small."


	18. Broken Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Few places remind Solas of how much he failed his people than the Exalted Plains. 
> 
> The first of some spooky drabbles for the spookiest month of the year! 
> 
> Prompt: goosebumps

The Dalish call it Dirthavaren. _The promise_. To everyone else it is the Exalted Plains. But Solas sees neither promises nor exaltations here, only death. 

The Veil hangs in tatters everywhere he looks. Corpses crawl out of burning forts. The wind whistles and wails in his ears. His skin crawls with the barely-felt grasping of desperate, anguished spirits, trapped in the bloody echoes of their final moments. 

So many of his people fell here. Too many.

Ghila'nain's Grove is no sanctuary. The hawks that perch on the stone halla statues watch him too closely, sharp-eyed, hungry, and all too knowing. 


	19. Red Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little slice of what In Hushed Whispers is like for Roiya and Dorian.
> 
> The third of four spooky-themed drabbles written this month!
> 
> Prompt: the other side

Red lyrium dust rattles in Roiya's lungs, piling up like grains of sand in a very deadly hourglass. Dorian isn't faring much better; every skirmish ends with him brushing crimson specks from his skin, clinging to him like iron filings to a lodestone. Each time there are a few more red pinpricks left behind, dotting his skin like bug bites.

She's seen the other side of prolonged exposure. Between the burning red stares and voices that sound perpetually strangled, Roiya can barely look Cassandra or Solas in the eye.

For all their sakes, she prays Alexius still has that amulet. 


End file.
